Kaila Charles
Charles in 2020
Personal information
Born (1998-03-23) March 23, 1998
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Listed weight168 lb (76 kg)
Career information
High schoolRiverdale Baptist
(Upper Marlboro, Maryland)
CollegeMaryland (2016–2020)
WNBA draft2020: 2nd round, 23rd overall pick
Selected by the Connecticut Sun
Playing career2020–present
PositionShooting guard / small forward
Career history
2020–2021Connecticut Sun
2022Atlanta Dream
2023Seattle Storm
Career highlights and awards
  • Third-team All-American – AP (2020)

Kaila Charles (born March 23, 1998) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Seattle Storm of the WNBA. She played college basketball for the University of Maryland, College Park. After a successful college career there, Charles was drafted by the Connecticut Sun with the 23rd overall pick in the 2020 WNBA draft.

Early life

High school

Charles hails from Glenn Dale, Maryland. For her first three years of high school, she attended Eleanor Roosevelt High School in nearby Greenbelt, where her teams had a combined 72 and 5 record. While at Eleanor Roosevelt, Charles' teams won two Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association Class AAAA state championships (2014 and 2015). Charles also earned Washington Post All-Metro honors as a sophomore and junior. She transferred her senior year to Riverdale Baptist School in Upper Marlboro, and helped the team to a national championship game. She was a McDonalds and Women's Basketball Coaches Association All-American selection as a senior, and also received All-Metro Player of The Year honors from the Post.[1]

Recruiting

Charles was ranked as the 25th best player in her national class by ESPN and the Collegiate Girls Report, though the All Star Girls Report had her ranked as high as 21st. She was a highly-sought player as a five-star recruit, and received over 30 scholarship offers, eventually signing with Brenda Frese and the nearby Maryland Terrapins over Tennessee and South Carolina.[2][3]

College career

Freshman season (2016-17)

Charles earned a double-double in her first game and saw a large amount of playing time. She was eventually named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team.[1]

Sophomore season (2017-18)

As a sophomore, Charles was named a Preseason All-Big Ten team member, as well as a preseason Ann Meyers Drysdale Award watch list member. Charles became the third player in program history to score 600 points as a second year player, and her 17.9 points per game remain the highest-ever for a Maryland sophomore. Charles earned her first Big Ten Player of the Week honors as a sophomore, and finished the season as a First Team All-Big Ten selection.[1]

Junior season (2018-19)

Charles received Player of the Week in February of this season, and finished the season receiving Associated Press and WBCA Honorable Mention All-American honors, and becoming a Cheryl Miller Award finalist. She was also a unanimous First Team All-Big Ten selection, and appeared on the watchlist for the Wade Trophy.[1]

Senior season (2019-2020)

Prior to the 2019-20 season, she was named an AP Preseason All-American, as well as the preseason Big Ten Player of the Year.[4] Charles was Big Ten, United States Basketball Writers Association, and ESPNW player of the week for December 30, and would receive Big Ten Player of the Week Honors once again in February. Charles finished her Maryland career by winning the 2020 Big Ten women's basketball tournament, the first time the team had done so since her freshman year, after losing to Ohio State and Iowa in the championship game the two previous years.[1]

Charles became one of six players in program history to be in the program's top ten scorers and rebounders, holding sixth place for both. She also tied Sun teammate Alyssa Thomas' record of career starts (135), as she started every game of her career.[1]

Maryland statistics

Source[5]

Ratios
YEAR Team GP FG% 3P% FT% RBG APG BPG SPG PPG
2016-17 Maryland 35 51.1% - 68.5% 5.57 1.23 0.51 1.26 9.69
2017-18 Maryland 34 50.3% 33.3% 73.2% 8.09 2.12 1.06 1.56 17.94
2018-19 Maryland 33 48.6% 7.1% 80.5% 6.91 2.33 0.70 1.30 17.55
2019-20 Maryland 32 50.0% 30.0% 69.5% 7.25 2.22 0.63 1.59 14.25
Career 134 49.9% 22.2% 74.0% 6.94 1.96 0.72 1.43 14.81
Totals
YEAR Team GP FG FGA 3P 3PA FT FTA REB A BK ST PTS
2016-17 Maryland 35 139 272 0 3 61 89 195 43 18 44 339
2017-18 Maryland 34 246 489 6 18 112 153 275 72 36 53 610
2018-19 Maryland 33 221 455 1 14 136 169 228 77 23 43 579
2019-20 Maryland 32 190 380 3 10 73 105 232 71 20 51 456
Career 134 796 1596 10 45 382 516 930 263 97 191 1984

WNBA

Connecticut Sun

Charles was drafted by the Connecticut Sun with the 23rd pick in the second round of the 2020 WNBA draft.[6] She appeared in 21 games for the Sun in her rookie year, starting seven. She averaged 5.4 points and 2.6 rebounds over 17.9 minutes per game. Despite being the seventh seed (of eight) in the 2020 WNBA Playoffs, the Sun made it to the semifinals before losing to the Las Vegas Aces in five games. Charles was waived by the Sun on May 5, 2022.[7]

New York Liberty

On May 6, 2022, Charles joined the New York Liberty on a hardship contract.[8] Two days later, she was released from the hardship and did not appear in any games.

Atlanta Dream

On August 12, 2022, Charles signed with the Dream on a hardship contract.[9]

WNBA career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game  RPG  Rebounds per game
 APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game  BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game
 TO  Turnovers per game  FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 Bold  Career best ° League leader

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2020 Connecticut 21717.9.412.367.7102.60.90.80.30.95.4
2021 Connecticut 30416.3.368.303.8752.81.10.50.40.94.3
2022 Atlanta 102.0.000.000.0000.00.00.00.00.00.0
Career 3 years, 2 teams 521116.7.387.333.7822.71.00.60.30.94.7

Postseason

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2020 Connecticut 7011.7.375.1821.0001.70.40.10.11.34.0
2021 Connecticut 4113.3.313.000.0003.00.80.30.30.32.5
Career 2 years, 1 team 11112.3.350.1671.0002.20.50.20.20.93.5

Personal life

Charles' mother, Ruperta Charles, competed in the 100 meter dash at the 1984 Summer Olympics on behalf of Antigua and Barbuda after attending Howard University. She has three older siblings. Her sister, Afia, was a track athlete at the University of Central Florida and represented Antigua and Barbuda in the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Her brother Akil plays basketball at St. Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia, Canada.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Kaila Charles - Women's Basketball". University of Maryland Athletics. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
  2. ↑ Spinks, Redell (2015-05-18). "Kaila Charles is a Future Terp!". Team Takeover. Retrieved 2020-04-26.
  3. ↑ "kaila-charles". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2021-02-01.
  4. ↑ staff, Baltimore Sun (31 October 2019). "Maryland's Kaila Charles named preseason All-American; Orioles OF Mason Williams becomes free agent". baltimoresun.com. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
  5. ↑ "NCAA Statistics". web1.ncaa.org. Retrieved 2021-06-30.
  6. ↑ "Kaila Charles, Juicy Landrum discuss joining Connecticut Sun". High Post Hoops. 2020-04-24. Retrieved 2020-04-25.
  7. ↑ "Connecticut Waives Kaila Charles". Connecticut Sun. Retrieved 2022-05-02.
  8. ↑ Twitter https://twitter.com/nyliberty/status/1522592484836225024. Retrieved 2022-05-06. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  9. ↑ Atlanta Dream [@AtlantaDream] (August 12, 2022). "ROSTER UPDATE: The Atlanta Dream has signed Kaila Charles to a hardship contract. She will be available for tonight's game. #DoItForTheDream" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
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